... play is one of the oldest forms of learning.
... so many of us play videogames.
... great videogames leverage solid learning theory.
... we need to help K12 students get more out of school. Now.
... the workplace requires the kinds of skills games foster.
Some of the topics to be explored:
- How is it that all games are educational?
- How can we measure what people learn from games?
- What is motivation, and how does it function in a good game?
- How can we use videogames in core academic content areas (math/science/history)? Should we?
- What if an entire public school was designed around gaming? (It just happened!)
- Is it true that videogames are a “guy thing”? Is there such a thing as “games for girls”? Should there be?
- Can massively multiplayer online games and role-playing games help you be all that you can be? Can they bring you closer to other people?
- How do videogames affect your brain? Do they make you violent? Passive? Aggressive? Can they make you more intelligent?
What will class sessions be like?
We’ll spend 1 session each week discussing the readings, conversing with guest speakers, and hearing a short lecture to focus our thinking about the topic. The other session each week will be spent in small(er) group work, conducting show and tell sessions about our game play experiences, and working on the game design project.